Secure Programming with Static Analysis (Addison-Wesley Software Security Series) (Paperback)

by Brian Chess (Author), Jacob West (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The First Expert Guide to Static Analysis for Software Security!

 

Creating secure code requires more than just good intentions. Programmers need to know that their code will be safe in an almost infinite number of scenarios and configurations. Static source code analysis gives users the ability to review their work with a fine-toothed comb and uncover the kinds of errors that lead directly to security vulnerabilities. Now, there’s a complete guide to static analysis: how it works, how to integrate it into the software development processes, and how to make the most of it during security code review. Static analysis experts Brian Chess and Jacob West look at the most common types of security defects that occur today. They illustrate main points using Java and C code examples taken from real-world security incidents, showing how coding errors are exploited, how they could have been prevented, and how static analysis can rapidly uncover similar mistakes. This book is for everyone concerned with building more secure software: developers, security engineers, analysts, and testers.

 

Coverage includes:

 

  Why conventional bug-catching often misses security problems

  How static analysis can help programmers get security right

  The critical attributes and algorithms that make or break a static analysis tool

  36 techniques for making static analysis more effective on your code

  More than 70 types of serious security vulnerabilities, with specific solutions

  Example vulnerabilities from Firefox, OpenSSH, MySpace, eTrade, Apache httpd, and many more

  Techniques for handling untrusted input

  Eliminating buffer overflows: tactical and strategic approaches

  Avoiding errors specific to Web applications, Web services, and Ajax

  Security-aware logging, debugging, and error/exception handling

  Creating, maintaining, and sharing secrets and confidential information

  Detailed tutorials that walk you through the static analysis process

 

“We designed Java so that it could be analyzed statically. This book shows you how to apply advanced static analysis techniques to create more secure, more reliable software.”

–Bill Joy, Co-founder of Sun Microsystems, co-inventor of the Java programming language

 

“'Secure Programming with Static Analysis' is a great primer on static analysis for security-minded developers and security practitioners. Well-written, easy to read, tells you what you need to know.”

–David Wagner, Associate Professor, University of California Berkeley

 

“Software developers are the first and best line of defense for the security of their code. This book gives them the security development knowledge and the tools they need in order to eliminate vulnerabilities before they move into the final products that can be exploited.”

–Howard A. Schmidt, Former White House Cyber Security Advisor

 

BRIAN CHESS is Founder and Chief Scientist of Fortify Software, where his research focuses on practical methods for creating secure systems. He holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from University of California Santa Cruz, where he studied the application of static analysis to finding security-related code defects.

 

JACOB WEST manages Fortify Software’s Security Research Group, which is responsible for building security knowledge into Fortify’s products. He brings expertise in numerous programming languages, frameworks, and styles together with deep knowledge about how real-world systems fail.

 

CD contains a working demonstration version of Fortify Software’s Source Code Analysis (SCA) product; extensive Java and C code samples; and the tutorial chapters from the book in PDF format.

 

 

Part I: Software Security and Static Analysis        1

1          The Software Security Problem          3

2          Introduction to Static Analysis 21

3          Static Analysis as Part of the Code Review Process    47

4          Static Analysis Internals          71

Part II: Pervasive Problems            115

5          Handling Input 117

6          Buffer Overflow           175

7          Bride of Buffer Overflow         235

8          Errors and Exceptions  265

Part III: Features and Flavors         295

9          Web Applications        297

10         XML and Web Services           349

11         Privacy and Secrets     379

12         Privileged Programs    421

Part IV: Static Analysis in Practice  457

13         Source Code Analysis Exercises for Java        459

14         Source Code Analysis Exercises for C 503

Epilogue          541

References      545

Index   559

 

 

About the Author

Brian Chess is a founder of Fortify Software. He currently serves as Fortify’s Chief Scientist, where his work focuses on practical methods for creating secure systems. Brian holds a Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied the application of static analysis to the problem of finding security-relevant defects in source code. Before settling on security, Brian spent a decade in Silicon Valley working at huge companies and small startups. He has done research on a broad set of topics, ranging from integrated circuit design all the way to delivering software as a service. He lives in Mountain View, California.

 

Jacob West manages Fortify Software’s Security Research Group, which is responsible for building security knowledge into Fortify’s products. Jacob brings expertise in numerous programming languages, frameworks, and styles together with knowledge about how real-world systems can fail. Before joining Fortify, Jacob worked with Professor David Wagner at the

University of California at Berkeley to develop MOPS (MOdel Checking Programs for Security properties), a static analysis tool used to discover security vulnerabilities in C programs. When he is away from the keyboard, Jacob spends time speaking at conferences and working with customers to advance their understanding of software security. He lives in San Francisco, California.

 

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Product Details

• Paperback: 624 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional (July 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321424778
• ISBN-13: 978-0321424778
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #216,193 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This item is part of The SW Security Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best book for learning how to fix your code, July 5, 2007

By	James Walden (US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After having read every secure programming book in print, this is the book I would recommend to both working developers and students. The abundance of code examples in C/C++ and Java help this book stand out from the shelf of other secure programming books, but that's just the beginning of what sets this book apart from the rest.

While most secure programming books focus on the basics of security mistakes like buffer overflows, they're short on how to find and fix security flaws in a large body of code. Most of us have too much code to inspect manually line by line by the next release, so this book shows the reader how to effectively use static analysis tools as a part of the code review process to automate finding security bugs. The CD that comes with the book has a working demo version of the Fortify Source Code Analyzer tool, so the reader can gain hands-on experience with static analysis.

Once you've found the bugs, you could attempt to fix them one by one, or you could fix them in a consistent, structured manner using secure design strategies to solve problems like input validation and memory management that are the source of so many security problems. Secure Programming with Static Analysis has a readable and practical discussion of these strategies, with many code examples so the reader can easily apply these strategies. It also shows how to use static analysis tools to ensure that all of your code follows these strategies, so that no input escapes validation.

Every software developer needs to know how to program securely, and there's no better place to start learning than this book.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If your code must be secure, read this book, July 11, 2007

By	David Wagner - See all my reviews

Every software developer who has to write secure code should read this book. This book will tell you how to use static analysis tools to help you build more secure software. It's a great primer for software developers who are new to static analysis and for security practitioners who want to learn how recent advances in the field can improve their software.

I reviewed an pre-release version. It's good stuff. It's well-written, easy to read, and tells you what you need to know without getting bogged down in the details. Brian Chess and Jacob West have a great deal of experience in this area and they do a good job of conveying pragmatic information you can apply in practice to improve your software.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great security education and awareness book for average developers, July 4, 2007

By	G. Cheng (New Hampshire) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had the privilege to read the manuscript of this book before its publication. Highly recommended to developers who are starting to learn application security from a more practical view. With lots of real code examples, this book explains security vulnerabilities from a coding practice perspective, which is unique and easy for an average developer to understand. In my opinion, this book is extremely valuable for an organization to promote security into a software development life cycle(SDLC). It uses easy-to-understand "coding" language and examples to explain many of the vulnerabilities and security concepts that are usually hard to learn for developers with little security experience and expertise. A must-have application security book for the average developers.